updated 03:52 pm EDT, Wed March 13, 2013

Wi-Fi version sees $30 cut, 4G model slashed by $100

On the heels of an announcement expanding the availability of the Kindle Fire, Amazon has said that it is cutting the price on the 8.9-inch version of the tablet. The Wi-Fi only version now costs $269, a $30 reduction. The 4G wireless model now begins at $399, a $100 cut from the previous $499 retail.

Amazon is also making the device available in the France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the UK -- part of a long-awaited international expansion. The company claims that the increased production of the tablet in the other countries, coupled with strong demand, has lowered the cost of the device from an improvement in the economy of scale. "Whenever we are able to create cost efficiencies like this, we want to pass the savings along to our customers," Kindle president Dave Limp said in a statement.

Amazon does not provide sales numbers for its devices, using them as tools to enhance delivery of sold media, rather than the hardware being a profit-maker in itself. Analysts believe that the device sales numbers are stagnant, if not dropping. The price cut may be an attempt to prop up sales of the device in a quarter that is historically bad for electronics manufacturers.